Apparatus for straightening the bulging of railroad cars



G. BELLEMARE 3,525,249

2 Sheets-heet 1 Aug. 25, 1970 APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING THE BULGING OFRAILROAD CARS Filed Aug. 2; 1968 Aug. 25, 1970 G. BELLEMARE 3525,24

APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTE'NING THE BULGING OF RAILROAD CARS Filed Aug. 2,1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INIVENTOR Gregoire B EMARE v/ ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent Of 3,525,249 APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENIN G THE BULGING FRAILROAD CARS Grgoire Bellemare, 397 Guilbault, Longueuil, Quebec,Canada Filed Aug. 2, 1968, Ser. No. 749,859 Claims priority, applicationCanada, Aug. 29, 1967, 999,008 Int. Cl. B21d 31/00 US. Cl. 72--372 16Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is an apparatus that isinserted between the facing ends of two uncoupled box cars to straightenthe bulging ends thereof. It comprises a frame-like box inserted betweenthe facing ends, the said box having a plurality of horizontal bumpermembers provided on the sides thereof facing the bulging ends. Amotor-operated winch has a pair of cables wound thereon in oppositedirection with the free ends connected to each car whereby when thewinch is rotated, the bulging ends are brough against the bumper membersof the frame-like box.

This invention relates to a device of the kind designed particularly foruse in reshaping the deformed ends of railroad freight cars. Moreparticularly, the invention is directed to railroad car straightenersfor bulged ends of boxcars.

In the past, bulging ends of boxcars have always presented a majorproblem to the railway industry. Boxcars having ends made of corrugatedsheet metal are particularly susceptible to deformation. It has beenobserved that this problem arises mostly where the freight cars are usedfor hauling grain cereal or any similar type of loose material. Thehydrostatic pressure of the load and the compaction that takes placeduring haulage tend to cause the walls to bulge outwardly. This problemis particularly serious when the end walls are deformed.

The lateral edges of the boxcar steel ends are not sufficientlyresistant to endure the pressure required for reshaping the deformedundulated ends. Such a pressure would cause bulging of the lateralsheets adjacent to the steel end. Therefore, it would be highlydesirable to provide a device which could prevent any damage to thelateral sheets.

In some exceptional cases, the distorted part or parts were removed toreshape the bulging ends of boxcars: this has involved an enormousexpenditure of time and labor. Particularly it has been necessary to useheat to make steel more malleable and to facilitate the reshaping 0fboxcar ends. However, heating of these steel pieces has somedisadvantages. The reshaping of boxcar ends by using heat is carried outas follows. Pressure is maintained on the bulging part while heatingboth faces thereof from top to bottom to cause undulated steel to regainits original shape. However, it has been realised that the pressurewhich is maintained on the steel sheet, will cause the sheet to spreadoutwardly and will produce a bulge on the two heated zones. Outside ofthese zones, the steel material has a greater resistance and there willbe a decreased rigidity of the undulated steel ends. In all previouslyknown devices, some manual operations were required and it had neverbeen possible to reshape the bulging ends of boxcars to their originalshape.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an apparatuswhich will obviate the disadvantages inherent to the devices known inthe prior art.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus forstraightening the ends of boxcars and particularly those which are builtof corrugated sheet metal.

3,525,249 Patented Aug. 25, 1970 It has been found that these and otherobjects of this invention may be attained by providing an apparatusadapted to be inserted between two uncoupled boxcars in order tostraighten the bulging ends thereof which comprises a box, means fordisposing and supporting the box at a height between the boxcars to facethe bulging ends thereof, a plurality of horizontal bumper membersprojecting from the opposite ends of the box facing the bulging ends ofthe boxcars and means on the box for pulling the boxcars towards the boxto force the boxcars against the horizontal bumper members in order tostraighten the bulging ends thereof.

It will therefore be realized that the straightening 0f the bulging endsof boxcars may be carried out by uncoupling two boxcars having at leastone of their facing ends in a bulged or bent condition, inserting astraightening box between the ends of the uncoupled boxcars and pullingthe boxcars against the straightening box in order to straighten thebulged ends of the boxcars.

In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment according to theinvention,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus according to theinvention, mounted between two uncoupled boxcars;

FIG. 2 is an end view in elevation of the device according to theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view in elevation of the apparatus according to theinvention mounted between two uncoupled boxcars and illustrating thestraightening operations; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing the vertical and horizontaladjustments of the bumper members and their operating position into thecorrugations of a bulging end of a boxcar.

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus according to the lnventioncomprises a structural-like box I mounted between two boxcars 3 and 5.The box 1 is supported in the operating position illustrated in FIG. 1through the holding member 7. The box 1 should generally be arectangular prism but it is not required that it be built exactly asillustrated in the drawings, wherein it is shown that the box 1 is astructure comprising a plurality of frames arranged into a prism andreinforced by means of different braces.

The box comprises a plurality of horizontal bumper members 9 projectingfrom the opposite ends of the box 1 facing the bulging ends of theboxcars (FIG. 4). The bumper members 9 should be retractable to someextent and should also be capable of vertical movements.

For that purpose, there are provided within the box 1 a pair of motors11 and 13 respectively for horizontal or retractable and verticalmovements of the bumper members 9. The motor 11 is coupled to shafts 15and 17 re spectively on either side of the motor 11, each shaftterminating respectively into worm gears 19 and 21 (FIG. 3).

The worm gear 19 engages the gear 23 which is fixedly mounted at one endof a square shaft 25 (FIG. 5). The other end of the said shaft isarranged, by any known means, to be freely rotatable. The purpose ofhaving a shaft 25 of square cross-section will be explained below.According to the invention and as particularly illustrated in FIG. 3,four such square shafts 25 are provided in the apparatus.

Each shaft 25 is responsible for the horizontal or retractable movementsof the bumper members at one end thereof on one side of thestraightening box. Therefore, two shafts are required for the bumpers oneach side of the straightening box with the result that the bumper 3members on both opposite sides of the box 1 are horizontally operatedthrough four square shafts.

The movement from the square shaft 25 to the horizonal bumper members istransmitted by means of a special device which will now be described.

The shaft 25 is provided with as many worm gears 27 as there are bumpermembers and the particular square cross-section of the shaft is intendedto prevent slipping of the worm gears 27 about the shaft 25. Referenceis made to FIG. for an exact illustration of the positions of the wormgears on the square shaft.

The worm gears 27 are engaged on outwardly geared threaded bore 29 forrotation of the same about its longitudinal axis. It should be pointedout at this time that the outwardly geared threaded bore 29 is preventedfrom longitudinal axial movements by any locking means provided within acasing 31 into which the bore 29 is mounted. The casing 31 has anirregular shape and is better illustrated with reference to FIGS. 3 and5 of the drawings. Inside the casing 31 and threadedly engaged withinthe threaded bore 29 there is a threaded rod 33 having one free endthereof 34 mounted at one end of the bumper member 9. It will berealized that a rotation of the threaded bore 29 which is prevented fromlongitudinal axial movement, will cause the rod 33 to either extend orretract according to the direction of the rotation of the outwardlygeared threaded bore 29. The forward or backward movements of the rod 33will therefore be responsible for the horizontal movements of thebumpers 9.

Now turning to the vertical movements of the bumpers, it should first bestated that the motor 13 is responsible for such displacements. As inthe case of the motor 11, it is provided with two shafts, namely shafts35 and 3 both terminated into worm gears 39 and 41 (FIG. 3).

Worm gear 39 is engaged on a gear 43 fixedly mounted at one end of athreaded shaft 45. The shaft 45 is threadedly engaged through thecasings 31 as illustrated in FIG. 5. The shaft 45 has its opposite endmounted by any known means to be freely rotatable. It will therefore berealized that by rotation of the motor 13, and consequently of the shaft45, there will be a vertical displacement according to the arrows 47 (inFIG. 2) of the casing 31 and of the bumper members 9. The verticaldisplacement of the casing 31 and consequently of the bumper members 9is assured by sliding of the projecting portion 49 of the casing 31within an enclosure 50 in the beam 51. Of course, it will be realizedthat there will be four such assemblies as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The box 1 also comprises along the four lateral edges on the sides ofthe box facing the bulging ends, four rows of stopper members. Thesestopper members may be constructed in the form of a T element 53 asillustrated in FIG. 4 or in the form of a unitary stopper member 55.Stopper members 53 will be provided where a ladder 56 faces the stoppermembers. Otherwise a unitary construction such as 55 will be preferred.These stopper members are provided for protecting the straightening boxduring the straightening operation. Furthermore, these stopper memberscooperate with the bumper members and the central frames of thestraightening box during the straightening operation. They should beadjusted with respect to the central frames to determine the dead pointof the operation and to regulate the same. They are used to control anyunavoidable bouncing.

For straightening the bulging ends of box cars, the straightening box 1is disposed and supported between two box cars in the particularposition illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4. The horizontal bumper members 9are adjusted to the desired positions by means of the two motors 11 and13 and the two cars are then pulled towards the straightening box 1. Themechanism for pulling these two cars 3 and 5 will now be described.

The straightening box 1 comprises a powerful motor 57 (FIG. 2) coupledto a unit 59 which contains a speed reducer, a transmission and aclutch. The unit 59 is coupled to a double winch 61 carrying two cables63 and 65. The opposite ends of the cables 63 and 65 are connected tohooks 67 and 68 respectively, which are fixedly secured at the baseportions 69 and 70 of the boxcars 3 and 5 respectively. By rotating thewinch in one direction, the boxcars3 and 5 will be pulled towards thebox 1 in the particular manner illustrated in FIG. 4. The shaft 71 aboutwhich the double winch 61 is mounted extends to another unit 73 whichcontains a speed reducer and a clutch. The tension created by the winch61 carrying cables 63 and 65 is sufficient to prevent bulging of thelateral sheets of the boxcars. As a result, these lateral sheets will befree of ugly marks. It will be no more required to remove the lateralsheets which could become damaged when repairing the steels ends.

This device which will now be fully described is adapted to control thepusher members 75 and 77 by means of a plurality of bevelled gears (FIG.3). Two gears 79 and 81 are ararnged to rotate in opposite directionsthrough the above bevelled gears to slide the toothed racks 83 and 85 inopposite directions and to outwardly extend the pusher members 75 and77. By reversing the direction of the gears 79 and 81, the pushermembers 75 and 77 are retracted into a non-operating position. After theboxcars have been forced onto the box 1 against the bumper members 9,and after the straightening action of the bumper members has ceased, thepusher members 75 and 77 are extended to push the boxcars away from thebox 1 in order to start a new straightening operation.

In order not to'deform the lateral edges of the boxcar ends, thestraightening box 1 is provided with a device adapted to maintain aconstant tension between the lateral edges 87 of the boxcar ends and thebox 1. The device comprises a motor 89 connected to a winch 91 through atripping device 93 which will cut off the power of the motor when thetension in the cables 95 has attained the desired value (FIGS. 1 and 2).The cables 95 are fastened to the lateral edges 87 of the boxcar ends bymeans of hooks 96.

It should be indicated that suitable apertures are provided in thestraightening box 1 such as at 97 to leave free passage for the handbraking device 99.

The straightening operation starts when the bumper members rest againstthe concave parts at the center of the steel ends. As the straighteningoperation advances, the resistance of the steel ends against thepressure applied at one point increases up to a given point. At thisstage of the operation where the resistance increases, the outer framesof the straightening box will rest against the convex parts of the steelends, thus easing off the operation up to that point carried out by thebumper members alone. The operation should also be safer and may becarried out much faster.

The bumper members could be used alone but the operation would be moredelicate and would last longer.

Finally, referring again to FIG. 5 it should be added that the bumpersshould be operated separately for vertical movements. This may becarried out by providing a cylinder 101 having a threaded center hole103, the cylinder being rotatable and arranged for receiving the shaft45 through its threaded center hole 103. The cylinder should be mountedwithin cylinder 31 and retained therein by any known means. One end ofthe cylinder should be provided with a toothed gear 105.

The bumper member 9 is displaced vertically by a vertical adjustmentwhich may be obtained by stopping the rotation of the cylinder 101 byany known means such as by using an electromagnet device (not shown)which stops the rotation of the toothed gear 105 mounted on the cylinder101. The bumper member is moved vertically until it attains the intendedposition.

Although specific embodiments of this invention have just beendescribed, it will be understood that various modifications arepermissible within the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is tobe determined from the appended claims only.

I claim:

1. An apparatus adapted to be inserted between two uncoupled boxcars tostraighten the bulging ends thereof, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a box;

(b) means for disposing and supporting said box at a height between saidboxcars to face said bulging ends;

(c) a plurality of horizontal bumper members projecting from theopposite ends of said box facing said bulging ends of said boxcars; and

(d) means provided on said box for pulling said boxcars towards said boxto force said boxcars against said horizontal bumper members and tostraighten the bulging ends thereof.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, which comprises means foradjusting said horizontal bumper members from a retracted to an extendedposition.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 2, which also comprises means forvertically adjusting said horizontal bumper members.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 2, said means for adjusting saidhorizontal bumper members from a retracted to an extended positioncomprising a motor coupled to a plurality of worm gears, said worm gearsadapted to move a plurality of sliding rods longitudinally along theiraxes, each of said rod mounted in a casing and connected at the free endthereof to one end of one of said horizontal bumper member.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, said means for verticallyadjusting said horizontal bumper members comprising a motor coupled to athreaded shaft, said threaded shaft threadedly engaged with said casingsto thereby cause vertical adjustments of the said rods and consequentlyof the said horizontal bumper members.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for pulling saidboxcars towards said box comprise a power operated winch provided withtwo cables operating in opposite direction and connected at the lowerparts of said bulging ends of said boxcars.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said box comprises means forpushing said boxcars away from said box after said bulging ends havebeen straightened.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7, said means for pushing said boxcarscomprising two pusher members mounted respectively at the base of saidbox on the opposite sides thereof facing said bulging ends, said pushermembers operated by means of a motor from a retracted r to an extendedposition.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said box comprises aplurality of stoppers arranged in vertical rows along the outer edges ofsaid opposite ends of said box and adapted to rest on said bulging endswhen said bulging ends are straightened.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein said box comprises meansfor maintaining a constant tension between the lateral edges of thefacing bulging ends of said boxcars.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein said means for maintaininga constant tension comprises power operated winches mounted on said boxand provided with cables connected at the lateral edges of said cars,said cables maintained under a constant tension.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, comprising a holding member mountedon top of said box.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, said box having a skeletal-likestructure.

14. An apparatus adapted to be inserted between two uncoupled boxcars tostraighten the bulging ends thereof, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a box having a skeletal-like structure;

(b) a holding member mounted on top of said box;

(c) means for disposing and supporting said box by means of said holdingmember at a height between said boxcars to face said bulging ends;

((1) a plurality of horizontal bumper members projecting from theopposite ends of said box facing said bulging ends of said boxcars andadapted to fit into corrugations provided in said bulging ends of saidboxcars;

(e) a motor coupled to a plurality of worm gears,

said worm gears adapted to move a plurality of sliding rodslongitudinally along their axes, each of said rods mounted in a casingand connected at one end thereof to one end of one of said horizontalbumper, constructed and arranged for adjusting the horizontal bumpermembers provided on one side of said box facing one of said bulgingends, from a retracted to an extended position;

(f) a second motor coupled to threaded shaft to a worm gear saidthreaded shaft threadedly engaged with said casing to thereby causevertical adjustments of the said rods and consequently of the saidhorizontal bumper members;

(g) a power operated winch mounted on said box, said winch provided withtwo cables, said cables connected at the lower part of the oppositebulging ends of said boxcars for pulling said boxcars towards said boxin order to force said boxcars against said horizontal bumper membersand to straighten the bulging ends thereof;

(h) two pusher members mounted respectively at the base of said box onthe opposite sides thereof facing said bulging ends, said pusher memberspower operated from a retracted to an extended position for pushing saidboxcars away from said box after said bulging ends have beenstraightened;

(i) a plurality of stopper members arranged in vertical rows along theouter edges of said opposite ends of said box and adapted to rest onsaid bulging ends when said bulging ends are straightened; and

(j) tensioned cables between the lateral edges of said bulging ends andsaid box to maintain a constant tension between the lateral edges ofsaid bulging ends and said box.

15. A method of straightening the bulged ends of boxcars which comprisesthe steps of:

(a) uncoupling two boxcars said boxcars having at least one of theirfacing ends bulged or bent;

(b) inserting a straightening box between said ends of said uncoupledboxcars; and

(c) pulling said boxcars against said straightening box to straightenthe bulged ends of said boxcars.

16. A method as defined in claim 15, which comprises the further step ofpushing said cars away from said straightening box after said bulgedends have been straightened.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,201,968 8/1965 Hill 72-705 X2,443,931 6/ 1948 Stultz 72705 X 2,442,939 6/1948 Schram 72705 X2,371,659 3/ 1945 Stultz 72705 X 3,408,848 11/1968 Lague 72705 X CHARLESW. LANHAM, Primary Examiner A. L. HAVIS, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl.X.R. 72-705, 458

